supercheesegirl

I spent most of the first two-thirds of this book trying to decide if I wanted to stop reading it. The beginning is really violent and upsetting, and once the dust settles, a further series of crappy things happens to the protagonist, who responds by making incredibly poor decisions. And we all make mistakes sometimes, but a guy who so cluelessly staggers through life? I didn't want to read about him. And the Nixon digressions were boring to me. But I'd already invested some significant time in the book (the writing is spot-on and excellent, but the prose is detailed and dense, not a quick read, and the book is thick), and I felt like I should get something for my trouble. And I did. Eventually things start to change for Harry; he begins to love his niece and nephew, which inspires him to get his act together. The ending was really nice (although I don't think it needed the last few lines, so I'm just going to set that aside). It almost felt like two different books. Overall, I'm glad I decided to keep reading, so three stars.